For lovers of the Noir and the unreal

Last month, the Rolls-Royce Ghost Black Badge that I was walking up to drive off the showroom’s parking lot, was as unreal as the setting behind it. Dubai rises from the sands like a mirage in the middle of the desert, an orderly yet competitive conglomeration of steel, concrete, opportunity and excess.

As if it wasn’t already an overwhelming sight to behold, I was attempting to come to terms with the news that had just been delivered to me prompting a change in the drive route planned for the day. Ras-al-Khaimah, one of the emirates that forms part of the UAE and a couple of hours by road from Dubai, had experienced so much rain overnight that a part of the highway had been washed off. Huh? How often do you hear about a flood in the desert and that too one which is man-made — brought on by cloud seeding!

The Black Badge Ghost and the Black Badge Wraith are as unreal, of course from a pleasantly positive perspective. Weren’t they already perfect?

You can trust Rolls-Royce to go ahead and seek a niche within a niche. Make an uber luxurious car even more desirable.

Only this time, the folks at Goodwood decided to give the Ghost and the Wraith a bit of a dark side, literally. RR’s description of the Black Badges says “(they) speak to the darker, more assertive, confident and demanding aesthetic of a new breed of Rolls-Royce customer.” The target audience is today’s generation of “young, self-confident rule-breakers who are uncompromising and unapologetic about their choice of lifestyle.” That is marketing speak attempting to convey that young billionaires with a hint of brashness also deserve to be offered an option to buy a Rolls — the ones that want exclusivity, and the thrill of speed when they are not in the mood for wafting.

Rolls-Royces already have that unique analog power reserve pod with its needle travelling in anti-clockwise direction and mocking you with its display of the meagre use of engine power. And you thought that you were already doing twice the legal speed limit. Now, the mockery could get worse in the Black Badges with even more torque and in the case of the Ghost, another dollop of power also being delivered by the V12 engine. They are both a bit edgier, have more ample reserves of power and the exhaust sounds wicked (yes, for a change you get to hear the motor too, not just the ticking of the dashboard clock).

The Black Badge Ghost and Wraith are even more distinctive than their regular models thanks to some unique additions to their body work. The design remains the same, but designers have chosen darker, more intense paintwork, there are more polished chrome elements that contrast the body colour. The Rolls-Royce logo is silver on black, instead of the other way around. But the most stand-out feature, which is most likely to be observed by onlookers is the special RR bonnet grille and the Spirit of Ecstasy statuette, both of which take on a black chrome hue and finish.

The high gloss black finish to the paintwork is said to be the result of applying multiple layers of primer and specially formulated Xiralic paint, after which the body is hand polished. Speaking of hand polished; can hand manufacture and hand-crafted luxury be far behind on any new Rolls-Royce? The most remarkable new exterior feature in the new Black Badges (Ghost and Wraith) are the painstakingly handmade 21-inch carbon-fibre wheels. These wheels apparently take months to handcraft and are made by folding multiple bonded layers of carbon-fibre. The inside of every Rolls-Royce is the most customised automotive feature across luxury brands. So, the Black Badges are no exception. But, while RR’s bespoke programme offers even greater variety for customising your Ghost or Wraith’s cabin, the one element that identifies the Black Badges is the liberal use of what RR calls the enigmatic ‘infiniti’ symbol as the defining emblem. You’ll find it on the dashboard, on the clock and embroidered into the centre of the rear seat. The other special feature is the dashboard centre fascia, a single unit crafted by using aircraft-grade aluminium thread woven into carbon fibre and cast into the shape of the panel.

The other cabin features are all customisable including the leather headlining with its 1,340 fibre optic starlights, and the hand-stitched leather seats. Incidentally, did you know that Rolls-Royce only uses leather sourced from bulls because the ones from cows could have had pregnancy-related stretching!

With their long straights, the highways and roads around Dubai are not the best if you want to experience the dynamic abilities of a fast car. But behind the wheel of the Ghost and the Wraith, I was trying to remind myself that these are Rolls-Royces and they are not meant to be thrown into corners. Both the Black Badges are still ‘wafters’, capable of gliding past the huff and bustle outside. The BB Wraith seemed to have a slightly firmer suspension.

The Black Badge Wraith gets 70 Nm of torque more than the regular model, with power remaining the same. It is already the most powerful Rolls with its 6.6-litre V12 generating 624 bhp of peak power. The Black Badge Ghost gets a 40 hp boost in power to 603 bhp and a 60 Nm boost in peak torque to 840 Nm. The change in performance numbers are more difficult to physically experience and identify, what with you using only about 30 per cent of the power available, at any time on the road. But being able to hear the engine growl under hard acceleration in a Rolls is a special feeling. The BB Wraith can go from standstill to 96 kmph in 4.3 seconds. Both the Black Badges’ eight-speed transmissions have been tuned for quicker responses, with shorter ratios. They are also satellite-aided and can plan ahead of your response to deal with upcoming situations on the road.

Driving the Black Badges in Dubai had more significance. It is the second biggest market for the marquee and many of the buyers in the Emirates are Indian. Rolls-Royce’s buyers are perpetually looking for exclusivity and many young buyers are joining the family. The Black Badges boost RR’s appeal even higher amongst such buyers.

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